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FAREWELL TO FATHER STEVE

For many years, at the close of the academic year and just before commencement, President Stephen Sundborg, S.J., was interviewed for a Q&A touching on a range of topics from university matters to popular culture and everything in between. With his departure from Seattle U and his welcoming of new president Eduardo Peñalver, Father Steve was interviewed for this annual tradition but this time, it was more of an exit interview than the usual fare. Here are a few excerpts from this fascinating discussion:

Q: What is something you’ll miss most about being president?

Father Steve: My image of Seattle University is the stream of students when there’s the class break. I’m going to miss seeing that and being able to say hello to students or ask them a question. Another thing I know I’m going to miss extraordinarily is I’ve had people who have supported me—senior staff, administrative staff—all the way through these 24 years. They’ve rendered me totally helpless on my own. I’m going to have a rude awakening and will miss being taken care of in that kind of way. As president, I’ve based a lot of what I do around the relationship with the cabinet and I’m really going to miss having a team like that.

Q: Would you do it again?

Father Steve: You bet I would do it again! I look at myself and I’m almost 30 years older than Eduardo Peñalver. If I was 30 years younger, I’d do it in a moment. It’s a rich, varied, challenging thing to do if you throw yourself wholeheartedly into it, but you’ve got to have the youth and you’ve got to have the energy to be able to engage in it.

Q: What were your favorite books from this past year?

Father Steve: Two books really stood out for me. One is Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns about the great migration. Phenomenal book. I think The New York Times once said it was one of the 10 best nonfiction books ever written. And the other one I liked was former President Barack Obama’s A Promised Land.

Read this interview in its entirety here.

COLLEGIA PROGRAM EARNS INNOVATION GRANT

Gretchenrae Campera, ’08, and Seattle U’s Collegia Program have secured an Innovation Grant from the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) in support of a new Reuse & Upcycle Program.

The grant will provide educational workshops on sustainability by collaborating with on- and off-campus partners, promote equitable opportunities for students to participate in sustainable practices by alleviating financial barriers and incorporate various programming on sustainability that encourages community involvement.

Seattle University placed among the top universities in a national sustainability competition. Among 200-plus institutions competing in the 2021 Campus Race to Zero Waste, Seattle University finished #9 in the U.S. in the waste diversion category.

Here are some other facts about Seattle U’s commitment to sustainability:

#1

Among universities in Seattle U’s Carnegie Class

—2021 Campus Race to Zero Waste

During the eight-week competition, Seattle U diverted 76,000 pounds of waste

resulting in a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of 90 metric tons of CO2

ENERGY CONSUMPTION EQUAL TO TAKING

18 cars off the road

FACULTY RECEIVE PROVOST AWARDS

Professors Mathew Isaac (Albers School of Business and Economics), Brooke Coleman (School of Law) and Serena Cosgrove, ’85 (College of Arts and Sciences) are the recipients of this year’s Provost’s Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarship and Creative Endeavors for tenure/tenure track faculty. The awards were presented by Provost Shane P. Martin.

Mathew Isaac, PhD, professor of marketing at Albers, received the Excellence in Research, Scholarship and Creative Endeavors award.

“Professor Mathew Isaac seeks to build a reputation as a world-class behavioral researcher who strives to answer questions that are not only theoretically interesting to the field of consumer psychology but also practically relevant to marketers and public policy makers alike,” says Martin. Brooke Coleman, PhD, professor of law and co-associate dean for research and faculty development in the School of Law, received the Excellence in Teaching award.

Coleman’s student evaluations demonstrate her success in the classroom and she has consistently been elected as the Outstanding

Faculty Member by students. In 2015, she was selected as the William C. Oltman Professor for Teaching Excellence.

Serena Cosgrove, PhD, ’85, associate professor of International Studies in Arts & Sciences, director of Latin American Studies and faculty coordinator of the Central America Initiative, received the Outstanding Service award.

“Cosgrove is a valued member of the

International Studies Program, for which she performs all administrative, advising, assessment and committee work asked of her,” says Martin. “She is also the program’s leader in recruitment and retention efforts, organizing events for current and prospective students.”